Excellent choice of narrator in terms of Dutch.

I'm Scottish but have a Dutch father, and grew up speaking Dutch. Unfortunately there are few people that seem to be able to get even close to the Dutch pronunciations (in the version of 'the 1000 autumns of Jacob de Zoet' I listened to for example, the narrator didn't even do a quick Google check for the pronunciation of his main character's name!). Usually their attempts leave me bleeding from the ears.

So I was a little apprehensive about this book, but luckily, it all turned out ok. The narrator had a distinct South African accent, so I'm guessing he's either from there or has spent a lot of time there, and Afrikaans and Dutch are close cousins. I do understand that Dutch folk who speak English without a Dutch accent are somewhat hard to come by, so using a south African was a very acceptable compromise.

The story itself was a decent enough crime thriller. nothing Earth shattering, but perfectly readable. I'll continue the series as long as they keep the same narrator!

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Good storyline

Good plot with twists and turns. Enjoyed it being set in Amsterdam. Detectives were likeable and although flawed managed to do a good job.

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Good but disjointed and hard to follow

I struggled with this one. On balance I enjoyed it and the storyline was very good but I kept having to go back and try and piece together what was happening. Maybe better read than listened to and perhaps the Dutch names were more difficult to ascribe to characters, making it harder to relate to. I wouldn’t put anyone off but you need to concentrate!

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1 person found this helpful

Super characters

Very long novel but worth it. Had to listen carefully at times due to Dutch names. Great characters and lots of unexpected twists and turns.

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Brilliant

I have been totally gripped by this novel, the story was very complicated and held my interest right through. The main character was flawed as they all seem to be in today's crime novels, but he elicited my sympathy rather than my irritation - I liked him.
The story kept me guessing until the end, and I hated putting this audio book down whenever I had to attend to something.
Saul Reichlin is as superb as ever, one of the best narrators on Audible in my opinion.

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23 people found this helpful

House of Dolls - pieter frost ok read

House of Dolls - pieter frost ok read
Full of twists & turns in the storyline
Liked the partnership between Pieter & Laura
Saul good narrator

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Seedy Amsterdam, murder, kidnapping, new detective

Always a pleasure to listen to a thriller by Hewson and narrated by Reichlin. The central detective, Inspector Vos, has sunk into depression at the failure to find his kidnapped daughter, Anneliese. However, a new rookie police woman from the sticks, revitalises the enquiry, and the chase is on. Inspector Vos is a thoughtful detective, and could be compared to Morse. Interesting detective duo. Immensely enjoyable story excellently narrated by Reichlin.

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15 people found this helpful

love this series

Narrator and characters are great and there is always a twist at the end. Great to listen to. Have now got the rest of this series.

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Really liked it

It took me a while to get used to the names and different voices, but that's just me. The story is good, I liked the characters and the reader was good too

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Enjoyable, good narration

The narrator was very good... his accents seemed believable and were not so strong as to spoil enjoyment or make listening difficult. Each character was distinct.

I have read several other books by David Hewson, at least 15 years ago. This one was less gory than some others, and probably all the better for that. The story was very easy to get into and it carried me along with it. I listened to it continually. I’ll read (listen to) another one before long I am sure.

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